


Bait and Switch

by helsinkibaby



Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Age Difference, Community: 1-million-words, F/M, Het, Rare Pair, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-06
Updated: 2016-03-06
Packaged: 2018-05-25 03:57:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,170
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6179258
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/helsinkibaby/pseuds/helsinkibaby
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Caitlin acts as bait. Joe does not approve.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Bait and Switch

**Author's Note:**

> For the one million words weekend challenge  
> Theme : campaign quotes  
> Prompt : be visible

Caitlin tottered down the corridor of STAR Labs, trying to pretend that the churning of her stomach was simply a mild case of vertigo caused by the higher than usual heels she was wearing. She knew it wasn't though, just like she knew that the shake in her hands - the entire reason she was late and hurrying, an eyeliner disaster meaning she had to start her make up all over again - wasn't due to hunger or tiredness or any other reason she might give. 

No, it was nerves, pure and simple. 

Not even nerves. More like terror. 

Not that she could afford to show that going into the cortex; even though they all knew she was the only one who could do this, her friends had been reluctant to let her go through with it. Show even the slightest hint of nerves and they'd pull the plug completely. Taking a deep breath, she balled her freshly painted nails into fists and continued on her way, halting only when another figure rounded the corner in front of her. The sudden stop made her wobble and Joe's hand shot out to steady her before she had time to realise what he was about to do. 

Only when she was steady on her feet did she realise that he'd looked angry when he was walking towards her, a thin set to his lips and a frown on his forehead that she usually saw when either Barry or Iris were putting themselves in the line of fire. 

That was when she remembered she hadn't run this plan by him. 

"I was looking for you-" he began but he stopped suddenly, eyes moving over her face, his frown deepening. Then his eyes travelled downwards, over her body, over the tight red dress that had been one of Ronnie's favourites on her. His nostrils flared with unmistakable annoyance and he ground out the words, "We need to talk," before opening the nearest office door and motioning her in. 

He held the door open for her and she walked in carefully, not tottering in the slightest, not wanting him to see how nervous she was. "Joe, I know I should have told you..."

"What are you wearing?" he demanded and she looked down, spread her hands out wide. Sure, the dress was clingier than anything she'd ever worn, the skirt a good three inches higher than her knee and yes, it was tight but it was a party dress, a going out dress so that was kind of the point. Besides, she'd actually lost weight since she last wore it - she'd dropped at least a dress size on the heartbreak diet and never got back up to where she had been - so if anything the dress was a little looser than it should have been. 

Either way, Ronnie had never complained. In fact, the effect it used to have on him had been the exact opposite of that. 

"A dress," she said and if she sounded tart, she decided she'd blame it on the heels and their attendant discomfort. "Which will hopefully catch the attention of my husband's doppelgänger." Because this was the whole point of the exercise, capture the meta-human who had been causing havoc, the man who wore Ronnie's face, find whatever breach he had come through and seal it. Caitlin had volunteered for the job - after all, on the two earths they knew about, she and Ronnie had been in love, so they were gambling on going three for three - but that didn't mean she wasn't scared about how she'd react when she saw him again. Joe looked distinctly unimpressed at the thought and she reined in her tone, softening it when she said,  "I need to be visible."

At that, Joe chuckled softly, shook his head.  "Oh, you're visible," he said and the look in his eyes was suddenly a lot more familiar to Caitlin. "You are definitely visible." He took a step closer to her, close enough that she felt the heat of his body like the heat of his gaze, and laid a gentle hand on her hip. 

His touch was enough to relax her, calm her, chase the terror away, even if she knew it was going to come back the second that she left this room. She was even able to manage a smile, a toss of her head.  Her voice was an octave or so lower than seconds earlier as she stepped forward, laying a hand on his chest and said, "So you approve then?"

His hand closed over hers, the shake of his head belied by the twinkle in his eyes. "Just us, like this? I approve." His smile vanished and his eyes darkened. "But Caitlin..."

She interrupted him. "You know what they say... if you want to catch a fish, you have to use the right bait."

Her attempt at levity fell flat. "Never was much for fishing," he muttered. 

"Ronnie would never hurt me." She tried again but he had an easy argument against that. 

"Our Ronnie would never hurt you," he corrected. "From what Cisco and Barry told us, Ronnie on Earth 2 was a different story." 

Which she couldn't deny and she didn't even try. "I know that," she told him quietly, concentrating on her fingers playing with the buttons of his shirt. "But I have to try, Joe. I couldn't live with myself if I didn't." 

"Yeah." Joe's sigh landed somewhere over her head and she wondered if he did that on purpose so he wouldn't wreck her perfectly curled hair. "Doesn't mean I have to like it." 

His hands slid loosely around her waist and she pressed herself again him, moved her hands up his arms to his shoulders. "Cisco will have me on comms, Barry will be there in a second if there's any risk, you know that." He nodded but the unimpressed look on his face persisted. 

"I'll be in the cortex with them," he told her and even though realistically she knew it wouldn't make a difference, it made her feel better. 

"I should get going," she said, rising on her tiptoes - not as much as she usually had to - and pressing her lips to his cheek. She smiled as she rubbed at the resulting mark, making a mental note to touch up her lipstick before she left STAR Labs. "And when I get back," she told him as she made for the door, "you can follow me home."

Joe raised an eyebrow. "Help you out of the dress?" 

Her grin matched his. "I thought you'd like to see what I'm not wearing underneath." She waited a beat for the meaning of her words to hit him and when his eyes widened in realisation, she turned carefully, put an extra swing in her hips as she opened the door. 

His groan followed her out into the corridor and she found herself counting down the hours until the night was over and they could make good on their plans. 


End file.
